Some things: I agree with everything George said except this. They didn't man up on Floyd and when they did, Rees didn't see it OR the offensive read wasn't to go to him anyway. On many obvious passing downs, they ran triple coverage on Floyd. That's just playground football as I said before. They dared our QB to throw to anyone else and he rarely did. Also, as stated before, when he did throw to someone else there was actually a better choice to be made. When I mean better, I mean uncovered... Sid, As I said, I know what you're saying and I share that same fear that you have. At the same time, Chris Zorich and a whole lot of ND players over on ESPN Classic can be seen doing the same exact thing and it not being called. I'm not saying it wasn't a penalty or really even excusing it. Carlo should have known better, but that was still a BS call given all that was let go in that game. Terry et all, At what point in time, reading those comments, would you consider he has finally thrown Crist under the bus? Reading those, he is clearly calling out players fine... He mentions the Crist play, but why not mention plays such as Rees' mystery fumble on a pass play in which he wasn't touched? No, that would be one of his boys who committed a total sh*t turnover in a game. That's where I take issue with this guy. If you call out the team, call them out but everything you do publicly should be in the collective. The moment you start singling players or classes out as a 'us vs them' you are screwing the pooch as a head coach.
I saw some stats on Crist's 14 possessions this year. From memory, 8 were 3 and outs. We have no points to show for any of his possessions and the opponents have scored 2 TDs. This I remind you is the only experenced QB on the roster when Kelly came on board. As far as I'm concerned Crist crawled under the bus himself.
The kid looked fine before hand. He started this year with a rough half and was pulled for a guy who has been every bit the turnover machine that Crist was.. How much of it is him crawling under the bus vs throwing him under the bus on opening night?
I like Crist. I'm sorry it's turned out the way it has for him. My son met and talked with him and his mom at a monogram club function when Crist was a freshman and was thoroughly impressed with the young man's poise and humility. My heart goes out to the kid. I hope he can rebound somehow, either at ND or somewhere else next year. The good news for him is that he will have a degree from ND and, based on my son's assessment, is destined for success in life after football.
I'm not sure if y'all care for the analogy, but Saban did a similar thing in his first year at Alabama. He talked about players not buying into the "process". Many of those guys saw their playing time significantly reduced.
kp, Thanks for the insight. I for one appreciate your willingness to contribute. It means something to me that an elite coach like Saban has done this. I'm guessing that there is some similarity at ND to what you are describing. My concern, per Terry's post above, is that if some players are going so far as to tweet publicly their dislike for what Kelly said, then one of two scenarios is possible: 1) There are egos on the team which need to go, the sooner the better, or 2) Kelly has lost the team. Maybe both. I'm hoping it's only the former. We'll know soon enough.
I have no idea what to expect tomorrow, before all of this came out I really thought the team would be pissed at itself, united and be ready to go out and beat the crap out of Navy. Now I don't know where their heads are and will they truly lay down and quit on Kelly now, I'm talking upperclassmen. I wonder if we will also see a USF type of melt down by Kelly on the sidelines if things go south and he see's the upperclassmen quit on him.
ND <t>I'm not sure what to think about all of this either. The players need to come out tomorrow and make a statement by just beating the hell out of Navy!<br/> <br/> Go Irish!</t>
Nice article, Terry. We need that kind of encouragement the night before the big game (Navy has become a big game). It's kinda like having our own quiet little Skybox pep rally. Rah. :lol:
Koombaya Koombaya! Whom they talk about Whom they talk about! The mighty, mighty Irish The mighty, mighty Irish! Sittin alone and lookin cool and calm and goin Oooh! Aaah!
No way of telling how the Irish will play today but I can tell you that there is some serious division on this team and Kelly is the instigator and continues to fan the flames. He has made the conscious decision to draw a distinction between players he recruited and players previously recruited. The net result as of last night was that the upper classmen and under classmen are at odds in many cases and the most influential players are openly speaking out about it and about Kelly and not favorably. It's a coaching tactic that I am unfamiliar with. By the way, the Irish home record is 15-16 over the last 31 games.
KP, I actually like the analogy. The difference between the two being that Saban was a proven National Title winner in college football's pressure cooker conference at a school fueled by fans that are every bit as drunken and ravenous as Notre Dame's (if not more so). We, both inside and outside the program, know his process works. Saban is never looking for an excuse (as you well know), he is looking for answers and those who answer the call. I've seen nothing of Kelly to date that is comparable other than the fact that he is a great recruiter.
Corey, Everything Saban does seems calculated. No wasted motion, just do exactly what you are supposed to do and don't worry about the outcome. That is his "process". He shows alot of emotion, but I am not sure it is genuine. I believe he just shows emotion for the effect, not because he is actually upset or happy or whatever. That may the biggest difference between him and other coaches.
Well that is what ND/Navy game is supposed to look like. Ran the ball well, passed the ball well, played excellent defense against the option. Used our superior size, speed and athleticism. 56-14 Oh yeah and FU Doug Flutie...in his post game analysis he called it a glorified scrimmage....I wonder if he would have made that after South Carolina a Top 10 SEC team nearly lost to Navy at home. It's a travesty that he's on the ND broadcast...get him out of there.
ND <t>Well after reading and hearing all the bullshi* from mostly ND fans the Irish go out and hang 56 on Navy. <br/> <br/> The game plan was great and Bob Diaco's defense against the triple option was great. Limiting Navy to less than 200 yards rushing is no easy trick. <br/> <br/> Those who were critical of Kelly this week I say when was the last time we beat the hell out of a Navy squad like they did today?<br/> <br/> I'm sure those on NDNation and other similar sites will find something to be critical about but they can kiss my as*!</t>
Dayne Crist needs another start. Navy scores on two turnovers by Rees. I really am more convinced he is not the best QB for this team. Many frosh looking good among them Ishaq Williams.
Very solid offensive effort Tim. 18-24 for 253ys by Rees/Crist 36 for 189yds by Wood, Jonas and GAIII After that backwards pass went south, I'm going oh no get that freaking play out of the arsenal, but Kelly went back to several times. I have no doubt he did it so they would "finally" get it right! Defense was just outstanding, those Freshmen on the DL played like upper classmen. Stayed with their assingments. They beat us to the corner on some of the options pitches but we did much better than we did against Air Force. I was a little disappointed that Kelly didn't go to Crist and Hendrix for the full 4th qtr. But it's a minor point to me! Just Win!
Putting DBs at LB was key to stopping the option. Great defense all day. Offense just took it to them. Rees continues his turnover tendencies. Kelly apologized to the team last night for his comments. Appears there are no hard feelings.